Hawkins approves grant funding to help pay for new health department roof

ROGERSVILLE — The Hawkins County Commission will utilize grant funding to pay part of the cost to replace the leaking roof at the Hawkins County Health Department’s Rogersville facility.

On Monday, the commission approved a $52,800 Special Needs Grant from the Tennessee Department of Health which will be used in the current fiscal year to help pay for the $185,000 roof.

Another $26,262 will be utilized from county health department savings, leaving $105,938 which will be drawn from the county general fund’s undesignated fund balance.

That’s one less capital outlay project that the commission will have to include in the proposed 2018-19 budget because all funding is being utilized in the current fiscal year, which expires June 30.

Why is the roof repair needed?

County Buildings Manager Alana Roberts told the Buildings Committee in April that if the leak above the dental area of the Rogersville Health Department building isn’t fixed soon, there’s a possibility that mold will set in.

She said water is traveling down the hallway into the stairway, because the roofing materials have detached from the building due to age. That’s allowing the wind to get under the roofing materials, and with high winds and heavy rain this past spring, insulation was getting soaked.

Roberts said an engineer recommended a replacement, as opposed to a patch, because the 12,373-square-foot roof is only two years from reaching the end of its projected life expectancy.

In other business Monday, the commission:

— Observed a moment of silence for Commissioner Charlie Newton, who passed away last week. A memorial was placed at Newton’s seat for the meeting. Newton had served on the Hawkins County Commission since 2002.

— Approved the reappointment of Hawkins County Industrial Board members Phil Barrett and Kerry Jackson to terms which will expire March 31, 2024.

— Heard a report form Mayor Melville Bailey that there will be a reception Friday for retiring Rogersville Senior Center director Carolyn Browning from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the senior center.

— Recognized Sheriff Ronnie Lawson and the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office for being named earlier this year as the 2017 East Tennessee Department of the Year ahead of every law enforcement agency east of Knoxville.